War will unlikely be over by spring - Yermak

Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's office, believes that it is unlikely that Ukraine will be able to end the war that Russia started by the spring of next year.

According to an Ukrinform correspondent, Yermak said this in a speech at the Halifax International Security Forum, commenting on a statement by Ukraine's Deputy Defense Minister Volodymyr Havrylov that "Ukrainian forces could be back in Crimea by the end of December and the entire war with Russia will be over by the spring."

"It sounds as if this phrase by the Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine is a dream. Of course, millions of Ukrainians dream of this war ending as soon as possible. However, I will be more realistic," Yermak said.

He recalled that this year Ukraine had achieved success on the battlefield, liberating Kherson and advancing in the Kharkiv direction.

"However, this war is ongoing, and I am not ready to name the exact day and time when we win. But this will definitely happen," he said.

According to him, contrary to the negative forecasts regarding the resilience of Ukraine at the beginning of the invasion, now most people in the world are convinced of its inevitable victory.

"Every day, every minute, we do everything we can to ensure that our joint victory with our partners comes as soon as possible," Yermak said.